We’re only days away from the first day of fall. And the leaves on the trees outside my window are already turning their autumn hues. Which means it’s time to give the garden some fall lovin’ too.
As a guy who has his e-mail address online in various places ( I administer the www.aroid.org website as well as www.bacps.org and this here greenhouse site/blog thingy ), and despite my best efforts, I get a lot of e-mail. And aside from the e-mails offering dubious business opportunities and the ability to purchase illicit substances at a discount, I get a surprisingly large number of communications from Southeast Asia from apparently serious people wondering where they can get Anthurium seeds. And I'm not just talking two or three people - this is something like ten people, some of whom are apparently willing to pay big money to get large quantities of seeds shipped over there. . . .
Orange, red, and fushia — Fall is all about mums. Frost hardy and fool-proof, mums are often the last splash of color before the snow falls. I’m not a big fan of mums in a floral bouquet, but they are stunning paired with decorative kales and grasses in the garden. . . .
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to chrysanthemum
on Sep 26, 2007, 9:32AM
Call me an optimist. In the past few weeks, I ordered a few apple trees (several crabapples and the unnamed apple known as Minnesota 447) from online suppliers. They won’t be shipped until next April, but already I can squint and see my own little orchard take shape. I already have planted Zestar!, Honeycrisp, Honeygold and Gravenstein trees and we have an established Jonathan tree — at least I think that’s what it is. Might be a McIntosh. . .
Reading Christa's recent Squirrel versus Arugula post over at Calendula & Concrete made me remember the squirrels at the last house I lived in. Now that I have regulary pesty squirrels I can laugh about it...
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to pests
Posted by Gina Reblogged by Old Roses to pests on 2007-09-27, 06:17:36
As summer flowers fade, and October themes of harvest, fall and Halloween predominate, gardens are getting more subdued, and more orange. If your gardening energy isn’t flagging, you could fight this with a huge infusion of late annuals, and almost recreate the riot of color of early July. But for those of us who are over age 25 and eschew the use of stimulants more powerful than coffee, it may be more practical to accept the general trend of softer and browner tones, livening them up with perhaps a few points of late-blooming or long-lasting perennials or shrubs (especially roses, such as the ‘The Fairy’ I showed two posts ago). . . .
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to autumn
Posted by DWPittelli Reblogged by Old Roses to autumn on 2007-09-27, 06:17:05
"For me, and for many other garden lovers, this is one of the most enjoyable times of the year," muses Steve Jones. "Rather like small children imagining the pile of...
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to shrubs
on Sep 26, 2007, 4:00AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to shrubs on 2007-09-27, 06:16:37
If you vacation in autumn, your fall foliage viewing may serve double-duty: not only for entertainment, but also for ideas to bring back home. As you come across trees in...
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to foliage
on Sep 25, 2007, 2:06AM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to foliage on 2007-09-27, 06:16:29
Bugs, bugs, all types of bugs....black, white, multi-color, bad-ass bugs! I have been taking bug pictures all summer, and this post is the result. Try as I might, positive ID of some of these guys still eludes me, but I'll tell you what I know so far (feel free to share whatever you know, too). All information for ID's courtesy of What's That Bug , Butterflies and Moths dot org, and Bug Guide .(And a couple more resources in the text).First off, we have a Grass Skipper...
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to insects
Posted by lisa Reblogged by Old Roses to insects on 2007-09-27, 06:16:19
It’s starting to cool down and the final oxblood lilies are making their appearances. The oxblood lily was introduced into Texas from Argentina around the turn of the 20th century, and few amaryllids have matched the ranges of adaptation. It is sometimes referred to as the schoolhouse lily, because it blooms about the time school starts, although many schools now actually start earlier in August. This vermillion harbinger of fall comes up in lawns, paddocks, empty fields, and nicely manicured beds. . . .
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to lilies
Posted by Chris Reblogged by Old Roses to lilies on 2007-09-27, 06:15:31
Planting bulbs allows the most wonderful dreaming a gardener has all year. The great thing about it is that come spring, your dreams will come true! When you order your bulbs, you will find there are different prices and sizes. If you're buying tulips, which tend to last just one year, I'd buy the bigger, showier ones. If you're buying daffodil and narcissus, which multiply and continue to prosper as the years go by, I'd aim for the cheaper ones and get more of them. If you're buying the smaller ones, like crocus and snowdrops, size isn't an issue. . . .
Japanese Anemone ~ ABC Wednesday Anemone X hybrida (uh-NEM-oh-nee) Synonyms: Japanese Windflower, Japanese Thimbleflower
If you are hear for WW skip down to the post below. Please consider joining us for ABC Wednesday, it is open to all.
This plant is always a treat in this time of year. It is an easy to cultivate perennial that tolerates partial shade. I have read reports that this plant can spread too much but that hasn’t been the case with mine. Sure it widens out but it is easily managed. . . .
Every year, the kids next door present me with some frogs for our garden pond. They catch them in their grandparents swimmingpool - and yes - I also. . .
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to ponds
on Sep 26, 2007, 4:34PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to ponds on 2007-09-27, 06:14:21
Are you having fun in your garden? Right now, I’m enjoying my garden because it's raining and my garden could use some rain, as could many gardens. If you need rain, I hope you are getting some.
Yesterday, we set a new record high when the temperature climbed to 92 degrees, breaking the 1891 record of 91 degrees. We don’t need any more of that nonsense. Now that the calendar says “Autumn”, we need cooler temperatures, brilliantly colored fall foliage, asters blooming, and time for garden clean up and bulb planting. . . .
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to shows
Posted by Carol Reblogged by Old Roses to shows on 2007-09-27, 06:12:38
One of my most favorite things is to find as in the photo above, a combination of plants, their colors and textures almost perfectly chosen to co habit together except of course in this case chosen randomly by nature itself. The combination of orange hued fruit hips with purple tinted leaves, the blue green leaves of some kind of wild spurge accented with bright yellow flowers of what looked like a dwarf golden rod- another view here-was all in a natural border on the road side along route 6A. All set against a crisp september sky. My textile designer head immediately extracted all those colors and wove an imagined richly colored madras. Another fall palette here.
My friends from Walatoola sent me an article from the Washington Post that my friend Brenda had mentioned in Comments that offers some new insights into our good friend, Big Zack.First I stand corrected:His name is really Big Zac named after Minnie Zacarria of Long Branch, NJ.And maybe “he” should really be “she” in deference to Minnie and her “lasting contribution to mega-tomatoes.”If you are at all interested in the sport, check out The Making of a Monster.
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to tomatoes
Posted by Leslie Reblogged by Old Roses to tomatoes on 2007-09-27, 06:09:18
I can’t imagine being the kind of person who already knows it all. I spend almost every moment trying to catch up - if I’m not finding something new to know, I’m quizzing myself on what I thought I knew and being schooled again on what I’ve already forgotten. I opened my eyes in the Rock Garden this morning and saw Toad lilies (Tricyrtis hirta) that I don’t ever remember noticing there before. As a matter of fact, I read a post about them recently (can’t remember where … whoever wrote it, please send a comment and I’ll plant a link!) and I thought (or maybe even said in a comment?) “I wonder why we don’t we have those? - Gotta put them on the list…” A new (old?) path has opened up in my brain!
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to lilies
on Sep 26, 2007, 3:45PM
Posted by Kris Reblogged by Old Roses to lilies on 2007-09-27, 06:08:51
We will be hosting a number of fun and informative demos and workshops this fall, so if you're looking for ideas and inspiration, plan on joining us. Date and details are listed under the Calendar of Events heading. We have...
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to shows
on Sep 26, 2007, 4:47PM
Posted by Leslie Reblogged by Old Roses to shows on 2007-09-27, 06:08:08
The Geranium Flowers today.The peach colour is sort of diluted with pink, and I love the lime green eye in the centre. Morning light is great for highlighting flower petals and making colours stand out. It looks vibrant and alive.
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to flowers
Posted by snappy Reblogged by Old Roses to flowers on 2007-09-27, 06:07:42
via As the Garden Grows on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
